Germanwatch climate report on India not all encompassing: Govt

A recent report ranking India as the sixth most vulnerable nation facing extreme weather events is "not all encompassing" and acknowledges that a single event cannot be attributed to climate change exclusively, the government has said.
The 'Global Climate Risk Index-2018' by Germanwatch, launched at the 23rd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn last year, ranked India as the sixth most affected country in the world in the year 2016 facing extreme weather events.
"However, the analysis is not all encompassing and acknowledges that single extreme weather event cannot be attributed to climate change exclusively," Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma has said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

"There may be other factors at play, which need to be factored in," Sharma said recently, after he was asked whether India has been ranked as the sixth most vulnerable country.
He said the government has launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
NAPCC comprises eight missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, sustaining Himalayan ecosystem, Green India, sustainable agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate change, Sharma said.

"Thirty two states and Union territories have prepared the State Action Plan on climate change consistent with the objectives of NAPCC highlighting state specific issues relating to climate change. In addition, a National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change has been launched by the government to support adaptation measures of states/UTs," he said.

Sharma said the India Meteorological Department has modernised its observation system by installing a network of doppler weather radars, automatic weather stations, and automatic rain gauge stations to monitor abnormal weather patterns.
"IMD has also upgraded its forecasting skills so that advance warning can be provided to concerned agencies to tackle the adverse impacts of extreme weather events," he said.